That's An Extra Mile (Six Sentence Story), Good Fences, Natural Remedy (Sammy's Poetry Day) and Brian's Thankful Thursday

 ***********************************

"Guess what we did at school today, Mommy!" four-year-old called out as Mommy claimed her in the hallway outside the classroom.

"What wonderful things did you do today at school, sweetheart?"

"We made a keido...kallo...one of these things!"

"A kaleidoscope, what fun."

"Yeah, the teacher showed us how, and we putted beads and glitter in it, and my friend Jamie sneezed and glitter goed everywhere, and we had a great time."

Looking at another mom from that class, "Any teacher who could get 12 four-year-olds to make kaleidoscopes with glitter and not lose her mind has earned an extra gift come teacher appreciation day."

Linking up with Denise at Girlie On The Edge Blog, where she hosts Six Sentence Stories, and the cue is Kaleidoscope.      

***********************************

Gosia at Looking for Identity has taken over Good Fences, and it's now Good Fences Around The World.  Post a picture of a fence or gate, link back to her blog, and go visit other blogs to see what interesting fences there are out in this big world.     

This week has been so crazy, i didn't really look for a new fence to photograph, so here's one from the past:

***********************************

It's Angel Sammy's Poetry Day!  This week's image and my freestyle poem:    

When in the 

Hustle and bustle

My mind wanders

And cannot latch onto

Any one thing

Get to the woods

Dank and serene

Full of quiet

Calm the heart

Still the mind

Hush the noise

All will be well

***********************************

Brian of Brian's Home hosts the Thankful Thursday Blog Hop.   It's time to share something for which i am thankful.  

This week i am thankful for our generator.  It's been frozen here and many people have no electricity.  We can run the fridge, three space heaters, some lights, the wi-fi and my heating pads.  We are especially thankful we can cook in the microwave, even if we have to turn off the heater in the kitchen to do it.  Being able to run those two things one at a time is better than not at all!

***********************************

Today is:

Celtic Tree Month Nuin (Ash) begins

Clean Out Your Cubby Holes Day -- internet generated, but if you have any cubby holes, give them a look today, make sure nothing is in there you don't want to see

Cold Day in Hell -- snow fell in the Sahara today in 1979

Day of Spenta Armaiti -- Zoroastrian (goddess of earth and fertility, especially celebrated by women; originally on Esfand 5th, which corresponds to 24 February, but is now celebrated on the 18th for reasons i can't figure out)

Festival of Women -- Persian (traditional, it has been kept even among those who are no longer Zoroastrian)

Fly-By for Fairies and Elves -- Fairy Calendar

Independence Day -- Gambia(1965)

National Battery Day -- probably created by the battery manufacturers, but they won't claim it

National Crab Stuffed Flounder Day

Pluto Day/Solar System Day -- the planet/planetoid was discovered on this day in 1930, and then considered to "complete" the solar system

Rastraya Prajatantra Dibas -- Nepal (Democracy Day)

Rites of Tacita -- Ancient Roman Calendar (goddess of silence, rites to keep people from speaking out in anger)

St. Bernadette of Lourdes' Day (in France; the remainder of the church celebrates her on 16 April)

St. Fra Angelico's Day (Patron of artists)

Tanigumi Odori -- Tanigumi-mura, Gifu Prefecture, Japan (dance festival)

Thumb Appreciation Day -- your first digit does more than just get mashed when you use a hammer and hit the space bar on your keyboard; take time to appreciate the complexity that is your thumb.

Anniversaries Today:

Tommy Lee marries Pamela Andersn, 1995

Ohio State University is chartered as the first US land-grant college, 1804

Birthdays Today:

Jillian Michaels, 1974

Molly Ringwald, 1968

Dr. Dre, 1965

Matt Dillon, 1964

Vanna White, 1957

John Travolta, 1954

Juice Newton, 1952

John Hughes, 1950

Cybill Shedherd, 1950

Andrea Dromm, 1941

Aldo Ceccato, 1934

Yoko Ono, 1933

Milos Forman, 1932

Toni Morrison, 1931

Gahan Wilson, 1930

George Kennedy, 1925

Helen Gurley Brown, 1922

Bill Cullen, 1920

Jack Palance, 1920

Hans Asperger, 1906

Enzo Ferrari, 1898

George "The Gipper" Gipp, 1895

Wendell Lewis Willkie, 1892

Boris Pasternak, 1890

Nikos Kazantzakis, 1883

Sholem Aleichem, 1859

Louis Comfort Tiffany, 1848

Ernst Mach, 1838

George Peabody, 1795

Count Alessandro Volta, 1745

Uesugi Kenshin, 1530 (Japanese samurai and warlord)

Mary I Tudor, 1516

Saint Jadwiga of Poland, 1374

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Roots: Next Generations"(TV Miniseries), 1979

"Any Wednesday"(Play), 1964

"The Telephone, or L'Amour à trois"(Comic Opera), 1947

"Trouw"(Publication, Dutch Resistance newspaper), 1943

"Simple Simon"(Musical), 1930

"Cities Service Concerts"(Radio), 1925

"Adventures of Huckleberry Finn"(Publication date), 1885

"The Pilgrim's Progress"(Publication date), 1678

Today in History:

Origin of the Kali Yuga Epoch ("age of vice" or Dark Age) of the Hindu/Buddhist calendars, BC3102

Jerusalem is taken by Emperor Frederik II, 1229

Amda Seyon I, Emperor of Ethiopia, begins his campaigns in the southern Muslim regions, 1332

Henry Tudor (Henry VIII) created Prince of Wales, 1503

Zeeland falls to Dutch rebels, 1574

John Bunyan's "Pilgrim's Progress" is published, 1678

Fort Saint Lewis, Texas, is founded by Frenchmen under LaSalle at Matagorda Bay, the basis for France's claim to Texas, 1685

Quakers conduct their first formal protest of slavery in Germantown, Pennsylvania, 1688

The premiere of George Frideric Handel's oratorio, "Samson" takes place in London, 1743

Trinidad is surrendered to a British fleet under the command of Sir Ralph Abercrombie, 1797

The Detroit Boat Club (still in existence) forms, 1839

The first continuous filibuster in the US Senate begins, lasts until March 11, 1841

The first regular steamboat service to California begins, 1849

A direct telegraph link between Britain and New Zealand is established, 1876

Mark Twain's "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" is published, 1885

The Cave of Winds at Niagara Falls goes almost dry for the first time in 50 years, 1896

Winston Churchill makes his first speech in the British House of Commons, 1901

H. Cecil Booth patents a dust removing suction cleaner, 1901

The first official flight with air mail takes place in Allahabad, British India, when Henri Pequet delivers 6,500 letters to Naini (a distance of about 10K), 1911

The US and Canada begin formal diplomatic relations, with the appointment of Vincent Massey as the first Canadian ambassador to the US, 1927

The first Academy Awards are announced, 1929

While studying photographs taken in January, Clyde Tombaugh discovers Pluto, 1930

The first Church of Scientology is established in Los Angeles, California, 1954

The Space Shuttle Enterprise test vehicle is carried on its maiden "flight" on top of a Boeing 747, 1977

Snow falls in the Sahara Desert in southern Algeria for the only time in recorded history, 1979

Dan Jansen skates world record 1000m (1:12.43), 1994

Pope Benedict XVI announces seven new saints - including American saint Kateri Tekakwitha - and appoints 22 new cardinals, 2012

The Ukrainian Revolution begins, 2014

A twenty-five year old cold case murder is solved when police in Minnesota run DNA though a genealogy site and find the suspect, 2019

What a Three Days! (Ten Things of Thankful)

(Because some people like Blogger and some like WordPress, i am putting the same content at both.  If you would prefer to read this on the other site, it is linked here.) 

***********************************

Where do i start with this past few days?  There’s so much for which to be thankful, i’m overloaded.

Let’s begin with Wednesday morning, around 12:30am, when a tree fell somewhere in this area on our side of the highway and took out power to us and around 140 others, but not our immediate neighbors.  (Yes, this whole area is wired up very oddly, you might even be the only house on a circuit.)  The generator did not come on, so i headed out to find out why.  It was turned to off instead of automatic.

This brings up the problem of the fact that the generator is supposed to run a test weekly, and i am never home during testing time, so i have no clue when that happened.  Therefore, i am thankful to now know that it hasn’t been testing, someone messed with it, and i can ultimately get Generator Guy to show me how to reset the test time for an evening when i am home.  If it ever gets messed with again and doesn’t test, i will know it and can get to the bottom of it.

When i turned it to automatic, i came on, and i was flooded with relief and thankfulness as the lights came on.

Around 3:30am, the electricity went out again, and i was unable to get the generator to start.  Now that i know what had happened, i am thankful for that because it would have delayed getting to the root of the problem.

When i went downstairs for the day to get ready to leave for my morning shift at the shelter, i was quite thankful for my phone flashlight.  (It turned out to be quite needed later on, too, but i am getting ahead of myself.)

Then came a big piece of information that ultimately helped us solve the puzzle, i went to very quickly get something out of the refrigerator in the back of the house (where i keep my coffee and spinach and bananas) and noticed it was running.  This told me the electricity to the house was back on, but only in the areas not hooked to the generator.  How thankful i am that i happened to go to it when it was running!  It doesn’t have a light bulb in it, so if i’d opened it when the compressor was not actually on, i would have simply thought it was still cold from not being opened and missed a huge clue about what was going on.

Once at the shelter, Kirby escaped and took refuge behind the security camera monitor.  Sweetie and i decided to leave him be and see if he came down on his own if we just left the room.  He not only came down, i am thankful to say, he also got back in his cage and hid himself under his blanket.  (Or hid his head under his blanket.  He has not mastered getting his whole self under there, and i am also thankful for the smile that brought me when i saw him.)

When i finally got my very sleepy Generator Guy on the phone just after 7am, i am thankful that he was willing to take me seriously and do everything he could to help, even though he was out of town on a job.

His first piece of advice was for one of us to go back home and turn off the breaker that is on the generator itself.  Sweetie did that as soon as he was done feeding cats, and reported back that while the generator was no longer making a buzzing noise, the lights were not on.

That’s another thankful right there, it gave us the clue that the generator itself was not the problem, the generator’s breaker box indoors was.  (It’s separate from and next to the house box.)

When i got to work, Ms. G had an emergency out of town so i could not work for her (she is a lovely lady and a micromanager who doesn’t want anything going on in her house if she is not there to control it), thus i would not be paid that day.  The thankful part is that it meant i could go home and wait for the Generator Guy, who had said he was on his way and would be in town in about 2 hours.

Anyone who read the story on Thursday knows what comes next.  Generator Guy called me and said, “You’re not going to believe our luck.  I’ve broken down on the side of the highway and I’m waiting for a tow truck.”  While he said he might, after he got back to the town where his job was and dropped the truck at a shop, be able to borrow a vehicle to come, he wanted to talk me through trying a few things first.

This is the second time i am thankful for a phone flashlight, since the kids had moved the regular one (i think it is at the apartment of a child who will remain nameless), and i am glad we have a spare old flip phone in the house that i keep working just for emergencies.

Calling Generator Guy on the spare phone, he talked me through checking the outdoor main breakers, then getting to the breaker box indoors, then opening up the generator’s indoor breaker box.  The person who had installed the generator about 10 years ago (before we knew this Generator Guy) had told me about the transfer switch, so thankfully i was able to tell it was the problem right away.

Then too i am thankful that i remembered his caution of “touch that switch and die,” so i looked for the small tool that should be in the breaker box for dealing with the transfer switch.  It was not there.

Never in my life have i been more thankful that wood doesn’t conduct electricity and that i have plenty of wooden spoons.  It wasn’t the right shape, and i had a hard time applying pressure at the correct angle, but i am thankful to say it worked to flip that switch and we have had electricity in the rest of the house since.

We are also thankful to now know what’s wrong with the generator and what will need fixing when Generator Guy finishes this job and gets back in town.

Then came Thursday.  Yes, the saga for the week was not over, although the electrical troubles are (thank heaven) behind us for now.

Thursday was the day to start the prep for my colonoscopy on Friday, and i had Ms. V’s house, which includes Carl’s apartment, which takes about 9 hours to do both.

When i arrived at 6:30am, an hour earlier than usual, i am thankful Carl was almost ready to leave for work and i got started in plenty of time to get finished in plenty of time so i could get home and start my “cleanse.”

The “cleanse” went perfectly well, and i am thankful because there is probably nothing worse than not getting fully “cleansed” in this situation and having to reschedule the procedure and do it all over.

On Friday, at the procedure place itself, i am very thankful for the first nurse, who not only recognized me from the cat shelter but showed me pictures of the cat she adopted.

Then i am thankful that i am an easy stick for an IV.  (Because the “walls” are curtains, i had to hear, in excruciating detail, the attempts to get an IV going in the man in the next bed — it took the anesthesia person to finally come in and get it done, poor fellow.)

When i was shivering in my bed because i get cold so easily, i am thankful for the nice anesthetist who brought me a heated blanket.

When it was over, i am thankful they found only one small polyp that looks benign (it will be tested anyway), and that if it does come back okay i am good for another five years.

Getting to spend the rest of the day noshing on Little Girl’s guacamole and hanging around the house in my house dress is a bonus.

Today it is back to business as usual, since i will be going to NOLA to clean Grandma’s house while her housekeeper is on leave.  That’s okay, i am thankful to be able to do it for her.

While i wouldn’t want to go through these three days again, i am thankful for the good things that did come out of them, and thats a big part of the point in trying to maintain an attitude of thankfulness.

Please join us and our gracious and wonderful hostess Kristi from ThankfulMe, write up your own list and link up to Ten Things of Thankful.  You will be glad you did.  

   

    An InLinkz Link-up

   

***********************************

Today is:

A Community Affair -- Menomonee Falls, WI, US (country lunch, arts, crafts, and collectibles, quilt raffle, juried art show, and more)

Autumn Historic Folklife Festival -- Hannibal, MO, US (Tom Sawyer's hometown celebrates the heritage and traditions of the 1800s; through tomorrow)

Birth of the Bab -- Baha'i

Bridge Day -- New River Gorge Bridge, Fayetteville, WV, US (world's biggest extreme sports event)

Feast of Agios Gerasimos -- Kefalonia, Greece (celebration of the patron saint of this Ionian island, with religious services followed by dancing and feasting)

Feast of No Excuse For A Feast Day -- internet generated, if you have no other excuse to celebrate something today, use this one

Festival of Ebisu -- Japan (the laughing god, who is the only one available this month, as the 8 million other gods of the pantheon gather at the Grand Shrine of Izumo; traditionally on 20th day of 10th month of the lunisolar calendar)

Great American Beer Festival -- Denver, CO, US (festival that holds the Guinness World Record for most beers tapped in one location; through Saturday)

Installation of Scriptures as Guru Granth -- Sikh

International Juan Valdez Appreciation Day -- internet generated, yet as we sip our morning wake up brew, let's remember the hardy souls who pick the beans for us!

Mashujaa Day -- Kenya (National Day/Kenyatta Day)

Miss American Rose Day -- with online only pageants devoted to high achievement and community service for girls and women of all ages, Miss American Rose suggests treating all women in your life like beautiful roses and performing community service with them

Monster Mash Day -- Bogue Falaya Park, Covington, LA, US (annual fundraiser for the St. Tammany Parish Hospital Parenting Center, with a day of fun for everyone)

Nagoya Festival -- Nagoya, Japan (biggest festival in the city; through tomorrow)

National Brandied Fruit Day

National Day on Writing -- US (sponsored by National Council of Teachers of English)    

Quincy Preserves Fall Architectural Tour -- Quincy, IL, US

Rattlesnake Festival and Gopher Races -- San Antonio, FL, US (wild animal fun; through tomorrow)

Revolution Day -- Guatemala

Saint Mary's County Oyster Festival -- Leonardtown, MD, US (oysters served every style; through tomorrow)

Seeking of King Look Under Your Mattress -- Fairy Calendar

St. Acca's Day (Patron of learning)

Suspenders Day -- probably begun by the same people who wanted to see if you would observe Wear Something Gaudy Day and Dress Like A Dork Day

Sweetest Day -- begun by Herbert Birch Kingston, a candy company employee who decided it would be wonderful to distribute candy to the sick, shut-ins and orphans in Cleveland, OH; today is the day to do something for someone that makes him/her say, "Oh, that is so sweet!"

World Osteoporosis Day -- International Osteoporosis Foundation 

World Toy Camera Day -- now with a Flickr page    

Yorktown Victory Weekend -- VA, US (with special events today and tomorrow at the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown and the Jamestown Settlement)

Anniversaries Today:

Clint Black marries Lisa Hartman, 1991

William Shatner marries Marcy Lafferty, 1973

The Sydney Opera House opens, 1973

Aristotle Onassis marries Jacqueline Kennedy, 1968

Birthdays Today:

John Krasinski, 1979

Dann Gillen, 1967

Viggo Mortensen, 1958

Danny Boyle, 1956

Keith Hernandez, 1953

Tom Petty, 1953

Melanie Mayron, 1952

Tom Petty, 1950

Jerry Orbach, 1935

William Christopher, 1932

Mickey Mantle, 1931

Joyce Brothers

Art Buchwald, 1925

Fayard Nicholas, 1914

Bela Lugosi, 1882

Charles Ives, 1874

Charles Dewey, 1859

James Robert Mann, 1856

Arthur Rimbaud, 1854

Christopher Wren, 1632

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"The Six Million Dollar Man"(TV), 1973

"No Time for Sergeants"(Play), 1955

"Vor Sonnenaufgang/Before Sunrise"(Hauptmann play), 1889

Today in History:

The first Crusaders arrive at Antioch, 1097

The city of Nuestra Senora de La Paz (Our Lady of Peace), Bolivia, is founded, 1548 

Battle of sekigahara sets Tokugawa clan as Japan's Shoguns, 1600

Maria Theresa of Habsburg becomes ruler of Austria, Hungary, and Bohemia, 1740

Patent of Toleration, providing limited freedom of worship, is approved in Habsburg Monarchy, 1781

US Senate ratifies the Louisiana Purchase, 1803

The U.S. and U.K. sign the Convention of 1818, which, among other things settles the U.S. - Canada border at the 49th parallel for most of its length, 1818

First Edition of London Sunday Times, 1822

Lincoln formally establishes Thanksgiving as a national holiday in the US, on the 4th Thursday of November each year, 1864

P.T. Barnum's Hippodrome featuring "The Greatest Show on Earth" opens in NYC, 1873

The hull of the RMS Olympic, sister-ship to the ill-fated RMS Titanic, is launched, 1910

The first Negro League World Series is held, the KC Monarchs shut out the Hilldales, 5-0, 1924

United States of America and Pakistan establish diplomatic relations for the first time, 1947

The Nepal Stock Exchange collapses, 1971

The Sydney Opera House opens, 1973

BM-PC DOS Version 2.1 released, 1983

US accuses Microsoft of violating law by forcing IE browser on computers, 1997

European astronomers announce the discovery of 32 extrasolar planets, 2009

Atronomers announce that galaxy UDFy-38135539 is the most distant object observed from Earth, around 30 billion light-years, 2010

Muammar Gaddafi, and his son Mutassim Gaddafi are killed shortly after the Battle of Sirte, 2011